Following another spectacular outing from Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks knocked out one of the NBA’s best teams Sunday night when they ran past the Memphis Grizzlies, 104-91, at American Airlines Center.
This was the 11th win in the last 13 games for the Mavs, who increased their record to 27-20 and finished this five-game home stand with a 4-1 worksheet. The victory also helped the Mavs bounce back from last Thursday’s disappointing 109-101 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
“We’ve taken pride in coming back after a loss and not to lose two in a row, and we haven’t done that for a month,” coach Jason Kidd said. “That just shows growth, that shows the character of that group in that locker room, so there’s a lot of positives to take from this game this evening.”
Here are our five takeaways from the 13-point win over the Grizzlies.
LUKA OUTDUELS MORANT: The show-stopping performances between Mavs point guard Luka Doncic and Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant was just that – a show-stopper. Operating from ground level, Doncic fired in 37 points, snatched 11 rebounds, distributed nine assists and picked up three steals in the win. Operating from somewhere up there in never-never land, Morant and his ability to appear as though he’s suspended in air, collected 35 points, a season-high tying 13 rebounds and six assists. It was indeed two of the performances for the ages put on by two of the NBA’s brightest young stars.
THE ERASER: Kristaps Porzingis had one of those “not on my watch” kind of games. The Grizzlies are known for racking up a lot of points in the paint and for aggressively working their way in the paint with no regard at all for the defenders who may be trying to offer some resistance. That’s the way they roll. Well, the Grizzlies rolled a few times too many in the paint, and Porzingis did everything but wag his finger Dikembe Mutombo-style. Before fouling out in the fourth quarter, Porzingis finished with a season-high six blocks – one shy of his career high – and also scored 15 points and grabbed eight boards.
DEFENSE WAS OFF THE CHARTS: Once again, the Mavs’ defense was off the charts in Sunday’s win. Not only did the Mavs hold Memphis to under 100 points – 21.1 ppg off their season average. But the Grizzlies also shot just 37.4 percent from the field and misfired on 20 of their 24 attempts from three-point range for a shooting percentage of 16.7 percent. Take away the 14-of-31 Ja Morant shot from the floor, the rest of the Grizzlies were just 23-of-68 from the field for 33.8 percent. And in the first half, the Mavs held the Grizzlies to just 16 points in the first quarter and to only 18 points in the second quarter.
COOL HAND BRUNSON: In Hollywood terms, Jalen Brunson is like the co-star to the star of the game. He is the player always in the background making sure every i is dotted and every t is crossed. In the case of Sunday’s game, Brunson punched the time clock for 31 minutes and finished with 13 points, three assists, one rebound and one steal. Brunson was 3-of-8 from the field and also had a plus/minus of plus eight, and converted all seven of his free throw attempts. There was no “wow factor” to Brunson’s game – and there mostly never is. But the Mavs know they’ll be in a world of trouble without him.
BLOCK PARTY: The Grizzlies entered Sunday’s game ranked first in the NBA in blocks with 6.4 per game. But it was the Mavs who hosted a block party on Sunday, and the Grizzlies were the only invited guests. And when everything was said and done, the Mavs had blocked a season-high 12 shots, including a season-high six from Kristaps Porzingis, three by Maxi Kleber, two from Dorian Finney-Smith and one by Luka Doncic. That prompted Finney-Smith to say: “Maxi is a great shot blocker and KP is a good shot blocker, so I feel like we’re one of the best shot-blocking teams, too.”
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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